1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to bats and more particularly a hollow metal ball bat and end cap. The bat has a full length barrel that is substantially straight throughout its hitting zone to its outer end. The end cap is installed in the end of the substantially straight barrel to dampen vibrations, provide enhanced impact characteristics to the bat, concentrate the weight load of the bat at the outer end and support the bat wall so that it will not flatten or deform permanently.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional wood ball bats have been replaced by hollow aluminum bats in many instances. Various leagues up to the professional level of baseball sanction the use of hollow aluminum bats which have certain well known advantages as compared to wood bats. Hollow aluminum bats have been constructed with the dimensional characteristics and weight characteristics similar to wood bats. In order to obtain maximum velocity of a ball when hit by a hollow aluminum bat, the hitting zone of the bat is constructed to provide a trampoline effect which involves an instantaneous and temporary deformation of the barrel of the bat upon impact with the ball and immediate return of the periphery of the hitting zone of the aluminum bat to an original position in order to provide maximum velocity of the ball leaving the bat thereby obtaining maximum flight distance of the ball. Also, aluminum bats are provided with a closure at the outer end thereof usually in the form of an end cap to provide rigidity to the barrel to prevent the barrel from collapsing when impacting a ball. In presently available baseball bats, when the diameter of the hitting zone of the bat exceeds 25/8 inches, the tubular end of the barrel of the bat is crimped and stepped down in order to enable a standard existing 25/8 inch end cap to be used with the stepped down or crimped end of the barrel to reinforce the end of the barrel and rigidify the hitting zone to some extent. The additional rigidity provided by the stepped down crimped area rigidities the over 25/8 inch bat and produces a hitting zone that does not obtain the optimum maximum velocity since the increased rigidity reduces the trampoline effect of the hitting zone of the bat.
Various efforts have been made to enable variation in the weight characteristics of the bat including the overall weight of the bat such as by varying the thickness of the peripheral wall of the bat or by placing material interiorly of the bat to increase the inertia of the bat as it is swung toward impact with a ball.
The following prior art discloses various developments in this field of endeavor.
______________________________________ U.S. patents 1,499,128 3,955,816 1,611,858 3,963,239 3,116,926 4,241,919 3,727,295 4,744,136 3,779,551 4,763,899 3,811,596 4,844,460 3,861,682 5,114,144 Canadian Patent 962291 ______________________________________
The above listed patents disclose various aluminum bat structures that does not disclose an aluminum bat having the unique features of the aluminum bat of this invention in which the long substantially straight and constant diameter barrel adds to the effective length of the hitting area or zone and an end cap of polymer material forms a closure for the end of the barrel to dampen vibration, enhance the impact characteristics, concentrate the weight load at the outer end of the bat and create the longer acceptable hitting area or zone.